


not good with words but willing to try

by gotseventeenclouds



Category: AB6IX (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:08:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23209804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gotseventeenclouds/pseuds/gotseventeenclouds
Summary: jeon woong the orienter is cheerful and walks with a little bounce in his step. woojin might be (just a tiny bit) in love.
Relationships: Jeon Woong/Park Woojin
Comments: 5
Kudos: 58





	not good with words but willing to try

he was expecting his mystery senior by two year roommate to be a scary person, someone who would tower over him, with either intimidating eyes or a pair that looks like they had experienced all the pain and torture college had to offer. he was expecting a roommate who maybe had coffee in cauldrons or in a dextrose because that was their  _ life source. _

so imagine park woojin’s surprise when the moment he had swung open the door to his dorm the first thing he saw was a pajama clad jeon woong sipping on chocolate milk from a little carton box.

(he’d like to share he was rather astonished.)

-

contrary to popular opinion, woojin is actually a shy, shy boy. he isn’t the best with words, most especially words with strangers. he just needs some time to adjust, that’s all. but it didn’t help that his nerves were all over the place on the day of the freshman orientation. he went there early, was even one of the first to arrive and sat down on the monoblock chairs provided. he wasn’t sure where to sit as the staff weren’t coordinating yet so he just sat at the very last row. 

he tried to distract himself with his phone, scrolling through twitter at first but ended up on google searching _how to make a_ _good first impression_ and _good conversation starters_ until he heard a finger tapping on the mic and a voice calling out numbers. looking around, he realized most of the seats were now occupied. he noticed there were some already in groups and talking amongst themselves, some who were obviously just as nervous as he is and wasn’t talking to anyone, and some who looks like they entered the school with their childhood best friend, holding hands and whispering to each other.

upon hearing his number he stood up and was guided to join a messy line of other obviously clueless kids, many figures closed in and anticipating. he was just about to try talking to this one guy who looked nice enough when someone suddenly cleared their throat loudly. 

not just him, but all of them misaligned new students looked to the source and they found themselves looking at a fluffy looking marshmallow man (in woojin’s words, fluffy because his brown hair reminded him of a puppy and marshmallow because his skin looked just like porcelain, but soft and squishy). the marshmallow man smiled at them all and if woojin didn’t see the band securely wrapped around his arm he would’ve assumed he was a bright-eyed freshman. 

“i’m jeon woong and i’m going to be this group’s orienter! now if you could all follow me to the stairs, everyone else can introduce themselves seated in an airconditioned room.” jeon woong the orienter is cheerful and walks with a little bounce in his step. 

woojin might be (just a tiny bit) in love.

-

jeon woong stuffs his mouth with a marshmallow and woojin internally winces because _ isn’t that cannibalism?  _ “how are you doing, woojinie? any concerns you’d like to share to your elder?”

woojin would like to take this opportunity to lie and say that the day he moved in and woong immediately recognized him as _ that freshman who was so quiet the whole orientation but suddenly freestyle danced and screeched when the prize for the game was a pair of ironman socks!  _ he wasn’t embarrassed because yes, he did that and park woojin is just that unforgettable. 

the second semester is nearing its end and woojin is doing much better than he thought he would. sure, the subjects are mostly minor and general education, only few that actually had him practicing dance but he knows once this part is over it’ll all be about moving his body. thinking about getting to that part gets him all giddy and excited he can’t help but grin to himself. but then he thinks of -

“why are you grinning? did something good happen? tell me, tell me!” woong stands up from their small brown couch that’s most certainly standing on shaky legs, he’s wearing his matching pajama set as always and today seems to be the lime green pair with bright yellow lemon patterns. he tries to tackle woojin but only ends up clinging to his arm, looking up at him with curious eyes whining  _ tell me tell me _ right beside woojin’s reddening ear and he feels a sense of camaraderie with their poor old second hand couch. 

see, even after months of cohabitation woojin still feels something fuzzy around his clingy, whining roommate. it really didn’t help that woong was a  _ very  _ affectionate and friendly person. for jeon woong, cuddling and hugging your friends (he has a lot) is something completely normal. and woojin is totally, completely,  _ 100% _ fine with that! it just makes it extra hard when the cuddly jeon woong who speaks in cute causes your heart to do backflips at double speed. not to mention woong is also older than him by two years and he always tries his best to be of some kind of guidance to first year woojin (“i am your orienter after all!” woong had said once) but more often times than not it’s woojin who ends up doing things for the both of them (special mention to cooking meals, woojin doesn’t understand how woong would survive if all he ate was the food he “cooked” himself) but he tries his best anyway and woojin just find him so, so  _ endearing. _

(so yeah, woojin isn’t having any problems with school and classes. he’s only having a wobbly time controlling his feelings, no biggie.)

-

their room is a wee square. like, really small woojin isn’t sure why they had forced to insert an even smaller but considerably space taking ratty couch (that they had had professionally cleaned at the very least) inside it. their beds only have half a step of space between them where a small desk is wedged brimming with chords and chargers, broken alarm clocks and a lamp that’s supposed to be touch activated but woong had been scammed (“why are people so mean, woojin?” “you bought it because you felt sorry for them too, it’s okay.” woojin was met with silence). their shared couch is pushed to one corner of the room, the one by the window which is woojin’s side because woong gets cold easily and sometimes the air seeps in. a door on the opposite side leads to the bathroom and there you have it, a one step living arrangement tour! 

evidently, they don’t have a table so their tiny electric stove is on the floor beside a miniature refrigerator left by woong’s previous roommate who was now apparently on their post graduate studies. it’s probably a huge hazard but they don’t really have a choice at this point.   
  
(woong shares that his old roommate youngmin had been on a full scholarship and was one of the smartest persons he knew but had the most terrible luck ever known to man. woong ended his statement mentioning how god was sometimes fair because you couldn’t be smart, good looking, and tall, and tall, _and did woong mention_ _tall?_ and be lucky at the same time.)

there’s no room to hide at all in such a small space. woojin gets used to a lot of things. he gets used to bumping into woong and stacking his things wherever he can. the little desk in between their beds looks like it can burst at any moment with how filled it was and their hands always touch when they happen to be looking for something at the same time. it doesn’t matter if woong’s first class is after lunch because woojin has one first thing in the morning and they both wake up to his alarm. they’ve seen each other completely naked more than once and squeaked and shied away, but the image of the other’s body is already burned into the back of their brains. he’ll know if the other falls from his bed because the floor’s carpet is barely there the  _ thud  _ will signal him. they’ve agreed to prohibit eating on their beds the first ant infiltration incident so they always eat on the floor or on the couch. 

it’s cool. it’s chill. woojin has completely adjusted to his current living environment. he just wishes he could adjust his feelings for the person he shares it with too. 

-

everything seems to be going smoothly for woojin until his composition and writing professor tells them they're final exam is split into half. one essay to be submitted before the exam and one objective exam. the professor raises a little plastic box which contains random questions they have to answer in at least two pages. interestingly enough, they are given the freedom to write it however way they want as long as it answers the question. they can write a short story, a mock news article, even something like a dear diary entry will do as long as it fulfills the two criteria: answer the question and reach two pages. the little plastic box of fate is handed to woojin and he’s quick to grab one of the small folded papers. 

before he’s able to open it his professor adds that this is 50% of their points for the exam, he's lenient with it and gave them as much liberty as possible because the objective exam is going to be brutal. groans resound in the room. woojin unfolds the paper that holds half his exam points and sighs, deeply.

-

when woojin returns to his dorm after a failed attempt to start writing half of his final exam in the library, he spots his roommate working on some papers on his bed while his friend sewoon is busying himself on his phone seated on their couch. 

woong looks up from his mess of papers and with a smile on his face says, “welcome home woojin!” sewoon looks up too and gives him a small smile and a nod of his head. woojin nods back. woong is known to have a lot of friends and to be part of a lot of organizations. woojin isn’t quite sure how the older does it while keeping his grades up. he asks him once and woong had told him he just wanted to have the time of his life during college because he was quite too shy during high school and regretted a lot of things. 

when woojin looks at woong he thinks the other is made of rainbows and teddy bears, milk and cookies, enthusiasm and cheerfulness. he’s just - bright. bright in a soft kind of way like the early morning rays of sunshine or droplets of water on leaves after the rain. woojin is well aware of how he thinks about him too much. 

he drops his stuff on his bed and collapses right beside it. both woong and sewoon look at him worriedly. it’s an unusual sight to see park woojin mimic melted ice cream. he feels a sock clad foot probe his arm and hears woong’s soft voice say, “hey are you okay? is there anything your best roommate jeon woong can help you with?”

jeon woong’s eyebrows are furrowed and there’s a crease in between them, the corners of his lips are tugging down and woojin wants to pull them up. woojin thinks for a moment, he’s just a bit frustrated because he’s the type of guy to get everything done right away, a man of action is what he is. he thinks to the question he received again and feels a bit embarrassed to even share it. “no, it’s nothing. just been a long day.”

woong looks like he doesn’t believe him and tries to convey that with his eyes but his attempt only makes woojin laugh because he looks as threatening as a newborn baby. sewoon watches the two of them in silent amusement until he remembers the time. “woong, class is in seven minutes.”

contrary to sewoon’s calm and collected demeanor, woong scrambles for all his stuff lying around, berating sewoon for not saying anything earlier. they bid woojin good bye and he’s left in the small room by himself. he tosses and turns, not caring if he squeezes his bag right beside him but hurriedly stops the moment he realizes his laptop is in his bag too. he reaches into his pocket and unfolds a little white sheet of paper, raises the thin thing to the dim light with both hands. it asks:

_ when was the last time you fell in love? _

-

woojin tries again. he sets his can of energy drink beside him, plugs his earphones, opens the document that only has the question and his name on it and sets his hands on the keyboard of his laptop and finally he yawns and sags defeatedly on his bed. 

he looks to his left and sees woong typing something on his laptop, headphones dwarfing his face and lips in a concentrated pout. his long, bony fingers glide across the keys and woojin feels envious. he grabs the first thing his hand finds (which is incidentally an angry bird plush he won at an arcade) and throws it at woong. his roommate almost flips his laptop away, but had enough sense to grab onto it before placing it beside him on his bed. he looks at woojin with a competitive glint in his eyes, and woojin suddenly has an armful of woong trying to smother him with a pillow. 

“park woojin!” woong cries as a battle shout, but sadly said park woojin is stronger than him and he finds their positions flipped as woojin pins him to the bed with his own weight. bodies connected from their heads to their toes, woojin feels the rapid thumping of his heart and feels woong’s panting breaths on his neck. woojin tries to get up and as he pushes himself up with his arms he can’t help but stop and stare, transfixed at woong lying underneath him, his clothes had slid down, revealing pale chest, hair a disheveled mess and panting, looking up at woojin. 

woojin unconsciously starts leaning down and woong’s eyes flutter close. just a little more, a few more centimeters and their lips would touch, breaths now intermingling but then a  _ ping  _ sound distracts woojin and he looks to his laptop, sees a notification and his blank document and looks down at woong who still has his eyes tightly shut. 

_ when was the last time you fell in love?  _

the question echoes in his mind. when he looks down again and sees legs instead of a face he realizes woong had moved to sit down during the time he was distracted and thinking to himself. he looks up and sees woong looking at his laptop, with no way to hide it, woojin just arranges his legs to sit comfortably. 

“when was the last time you fell in love, huh.” woong looks contemplative, before he giggles. 

“what a fun assignment you have!” he looks to woojin, joy in his eyes. 

woojin squints at him, woong doesn’t lie. he never does and even when he tries, he’s really no good at it. woong truly thinks writing about something like this is fun, “how would you answer it then?” he dares to ask.

his roommate hums, tilting his head, “i said it looks fun, but it’d be so hard to write. i fall in love every day, woojin.” and here he looks straight into woojin’s eyes intensely before his whole face lights up as he continues talking, “there’s so many things you can fall in love with. just yesterday afternoon while i was walking back here the sky was so pretty, it looked like some kind of special candy! it was a mix of colors of pink and purple and orange, how amazing is that? and last week when i was passing by the theater hall, the choir was practicing. the harmony they create with their voices was so lovely! i want to hear them all the time i sometimes even go out of my way just to pass by them to hear it again. falling in love is such a wonderful thing, don’t you think?”

woojin stares at woong in amazement and confusion. is falling in love really that easy? is it just as simple as liking something you see or something you hear? wasn’t love supposed to be something that takes over all of your senses, not just one or two? isn’t it something that consumes you and the entirety of you? 

“is it really that simple?” woojin asks because he wants to know, feels like he should know.

woong reaches for woojin’s laptop and sets to typing something on it as he answers, “i know love and falling in love are supposed to be two different things but it’s all really just subjective. there isn’t just one form of love, there isn’t just one way to love, so why can’t you fall in love in many ways? i just try to think of it with how i feel, you know? it’s hard to describe with words, so i just trust my heart to let me know these things. i’ll know for myself, and i think that’s enough for now.” 

he stops typing and hands woojin back his laptop, “i’ve listed down some things you can write about, hope it helps.” 

woong is quick to get up and exit the room. woojin knows woong’s schedule so he knows he’s just heading to class. but he’d usually say goodbye at least. he didn’t.

with nothing left to do he turns his attention back to his laptop screen and reads the list. there are only three items: 

  1. _dancing_
  2. _food_



woojin’s breath catches in his throat and he does a double take at the last one:

  1. _me, maybe?_



(none of them mentions or tries to bring up what happened minutes prior after that day.)

-

with a final tap to  _ enter  _ woojin finishes his “essay” right before submission day. his roommate looks bored, idly scrolling on his phone on his bed. it isn’t awkward between them per se, but a tension as thin as a thread pulls at their every interaction. they don’t avoid each other, no, that would be impossible but they don’t address each other as much as they normally do. woojin doesn’t bother or tease woong and woong doesn’t cling or start conversation unless needed. 

woojin takes a deep breath in and out, then another. this is it, time to snip the thread and see how it goes. he worked really hard on this and he knows woong won’t make fun of him. 

“woong,”

he stops scrolling on his phone and turns to woojin, waits for him to speak, “my essay, can you read it for me, to check if it’s okay?”

woong’s eyes pass a series of emotions blatantly from confusion to embarrassment to hope. he nods, and woojin is nervous as hell as he hands his laptop. when woong takes a look at it he deflates, frowns even, he really is no good at hiding his emotions and woojin prepares himself for heartbreak. so was it all just a joke then? was woojin the only one feeling something between the two of them?

“you did write about dancing, should have guessed that!” woong says and he’s trying to laugh but it sounds forced. woojin’s head snaps up and he thinks  _ what what what oh shit stupid! _

he hurries to say and almost shouts, “scroll up!” 

his roommate jumps where he’s seated and sighs but scrolls up anyway. while doing this, woojin is quick to explain, “two. i wrote two. the other one would be...to let my professor read it…” he ends up mumbling the last part and stands straight. 

“i’ll buy us drinks from the store downstairs...if you could give me an answe-review, review i mean, when i get back, that would be great!” woong just tells him sure right as he gets to the first page of the document and woojin has walked out of the room.

eyes widening and smile growing woong starts to read:

_ Submitted by: Park Woojin _

_ “Freshman Orientation” _

_ I’m not good with words so I’ll just answer the question right away: I’m in love with the person who oriented me when I entered the university, he also happens to be my roommate now. I want to ask him out on a date but I don’t know how. He wears pajama sets all the time and likes chocolate. He’s older than me but he’s shorter… _

**Author's Note:**

> i was originally supposed to write a short drabble series of sorts (around 300-500 words per chapter) but first one in i got into it too much haha. 
> 
> (and bffs!sewoong is my agenda i want to build up on this on maybe a different fic i don't know how many times i've watched that idol social dining episode)
> 
> thank you for reading!!


End file.
